News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS CONTACT: Ben Randle, Artistic Associate ~ 415.694.6156 ~ [email protected] PHOTOS & PRESS KIT
NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER PRESENTS WEST COAST PREMIERE OF REIMAGINED ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER
NEW VIEW OF CLASSIC MUSICAL TO BE DIRECTED BY NCTC FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ED DECKER
San Francisco, CA (April 7, 2016) – New Conservatory Theatre Center crowns its 2015-16 season with the West Coast premiere of a whimsical reimagining of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, the classic American musical featuring music by Burton Lane, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and a new book by Peter Parnell, based on the original book by Lerner. This mesmerizing and enchanting new look at the classic musical is just your typical musical comedy – about hypnosis, a gay florist with commitment issues, a love triangle with a therapist, and past life as a 1940s chanteuse.
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever runs May 13 – June 12, 2016. Opening Night is Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 8pm. Tickets are $30–50 and available at nctcsf.org or by calling (415) 861-8972.
Directing the West Coast premiere is NCTC Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker, with music direction by Matthew Lee Cannon, choreography by Jayne Zaban, and instrument arrangements by Ben Prince.
On a Clear Day is the rare original musical that is not based on source material. It broke ground by dealing with paranormal and supernatural experience — past lives, reincarnation, ESP and the seemingly limitless power of the mind. The musical originally opened on Broadway in 1965, starring Barbara Harris as a chain smoker who can hear phones before they ring and make flowers grow before your eyes. This new version of On a Clear Day was developed at The Vineyard Theatre in New York, and as part of New York Stage and Film and Vassar's Powerhouse Theater, and ultimately running unsuccessfully run on Broadway under the direction of Michael Mayer and starring Harry Connick, Jr.
Parnell’s new book replaces Daisy with David, a gay florist whose psychiatrist, widower Dr. Mark Bruckner, discovers that David's past life was as Melinda, a 1940s jazz singer. The “bewitching, beguiling”
Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
score (World-Telegram & Sun) includes the songs “Come Back To Me,” “What Did I Have That I Don't Have Now?” and the popular title song. Complementing the new book, the beloved score will feature additional songs from the 1970 film version starring Barbra Streisand, as well as tunes from Lerner and Lane's Royal Wedding, a 1951 movie musical with Fred Astaire. In addition, NCTC has commissioned new arrangements by acclaimed musical supervisor Ben Prince.
Composer Burton Lane is best known for his Broadway musicals, Finian's Rainbow (1947) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965). He also wrote the music for the Broadway shows Hold On to Your Hats (1940), Laffing Room Only (1944), and Carmelina (1979), the latter with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, who had also written lyrics to Lane's music for On a Clear Day and the film Royal Wedding (1951). Lane mainly wrote music for films, such as Dancing Lady, Babes on Broadway, and more than 30 movies.
Lyricist and Original Librettist Alan Jay Lerner was a Broadway legend. As a collaborator with composer Frederic Loewe, his wrote include Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), My Fair Lady (1956), and Camelot (1960); with Burton Lane, he wrote the movie musical Royal Wedding, in addition to On a Clear Day. Lerner also wrote a series of musicals with such esteemed composers as Kurt Weill, Andre Previn, Leonard Bernstein and Charles Strouse. For his An American in Paris screenplay, he won as Academy Award. In 1978 he published an autobiography, The Street Where I Live.
Librettist Peter Parnell’s playwrighting credits include QED (Lincoln Center Theater and Mark Taper Forum), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney Theatrical Group), Trumpery (Atlantic), a two-part stage adaptation of John Irving’s The Cider House Rules (American Theatre Critics Association Award; Seattle Rep, Mark Taper Forum, Atlantic), Sorrows of Stephen, The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket, Romance Language, Hyde in Hollywood, Flaubert’s Latest, and An Imaginary Life (The Public, Playwrights Horizons). Parnell is also the Vice President of The Dramatists Guild. He was the co-author with Justin Richardson of the award-winning children’s book And Tango Makes Three. He has written extensively for television as a producer for both The West Wing and The Guardian; he has also written episodes of Maurice Sendak’s series Little Bear.
The cast of On a Clear Day… features Jessica Coker, William Giammona, Chris Morrell, Melissa O’Keefe, and Kevin Singer, with Scott Ayres, Audrey Baker, Megan Bartlett, Stephen Kanaski, Christine Macomber, Zac Schuman, and Pamela Sevilla.
The creative team of On a Clear Day… includes scenic design by Kuo-Hao Lo, costume design by Wes Crain, lighting design by Christian V. Mejia, sound design by James Ard, prop design by Noah Kramer. New Conservatory Theatre Center has been San Francisco’s premier LGBTQIA and allied performing arts institution and progressive arts education conservatory since 1981. NCTC is renowned for its diverse range of innovative, high-quality productions, touring productions and shows for young audiences; its
Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
foundational anti-bullying work with youth and educators through YouthAware; and its commitment to nurturing emerging artists and playwrights to expand the canon of queer and allied dramatic work.
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On a Clear Day You Can See Forever FACT SHEET
WHO: Music by Burton Lane Lyrics and Alan Jay Lerner New Book by Peter Parnell Based on the original book by Alan Jay Lerner Directed by Ed Decker Musical Direction by Matthew Lee Cannon Instrument Arrangements by Ben Prince Choreography by Jayne Zaban Featuring Jessica Coker, Will Giammona, Chris Morrell, Melissa O’Keefe, Kevin Singer, with Scott Ayres, Audrey Baker, Megan Bartlett, Stephen Kanaski, Christine Macomber, Zac Schuman, and Pamela Sevilla. Scenic design by Kuo-Hao Lo Costume Design by Wes Crain Lighting Design by Christian V. Mejia Sound Design by James Ard Prop Design by Noah Kramer
WHAT: West Coast Premiere of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
WHERE: New Conservatory Theatre Center Decker Theater, 25 Van Ness Ave @ Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102
WHEN: May 13 – June 12, 2016 Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm Opening Night: Saturday, May 21, 2016 at 8pm
COST: $30-50
Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
TICKETS AND BOX OFFICE: 415-861-8972, [email protected]
PHOTOS & PRESS KIT
Ed Decker Barbara Hodgen ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR